


Spirits + Spells

by MoonlightMeika



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, GHOST PUNS, Ghost Lance (Voltron), Keithtober, Keithtober 2020, Klancetober, Klancetober 2020, M/M, Mabon - Freeform, Mechanic Keith (Voltron), Mechanic Matt (Voltron), Mechanic Shiro (Voltron), Minor Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Moon Witch, Samhain, Tech Witch, Witch Colleen, Witch Keith (Voltron), Witch Pidge | Katie Holt, ghost jokes, kitchen witch, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26981326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightMeika/pseuds/MoonlightMeika
Summary: Keith is starting over. He doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life so decides to pack everything up and move. It sounds complicated but his entire life can fit into half a dozen boxes, easily stored in the back of his car.The house he finds online is an extremely good deal: too good, if you know what I mean. But that is easily explained because the house is haunted. Oh, the real estate company didn’t disclose that information of course, but Keith has always been more attuned with the energies around him and knows immediately.He’s fine living with an invisible roommate as long as said roommate doesn’t bother him. And for a short while all is well, but then the ghost starts to talk. And talk and talk and talk. And then the jokes start. Awful jokes, just awful. Except they’re not, not really. Some are eye rolling and groan inducing, yes; others are so obvious it's borderline stupid, and still others are: What do you get if you cross a Cocker Spaniel, a French Poodle, and a Ghost?
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 16





	Spirits + Spells

Not too long ago Keith had decided to start over. New town, new job, new house; basically new everything. He didn't have ties to much of anything physical in this world and after some online searching found a nice house for a decent price three states over.

A much too decent price, actually, the cynical part of his mind kept reminding him as he views it, asks some questions, purchases it, drives and even now as he walks up to the front door.

There is a chill in the air, still technically summer but leaves have already begun to change colors. He can’t see his breath yet, but knows pretty soon pumpkin spice lattes will be sold at every coffee establishment.

It's a quaint little house in slight disrepair, as if it had been empty for a long while. Probably larger than he needed, two stories and a basement. Attached 2 car garage. Decent yard. Would be a nice setup for a family, not that that was anywhere in his plans. But a smaller place was much more expensive for some reason, and he hadn't had the energy to question the real estate office he went through why that might be. He figures it’s better to find out himself and claim it wasn't disclosed than be lied to directly to his face.

The real estate employee is there to hand over the keys, garage door opener, and offers to give him a tour that he declines.

As soon as he unlocks the door and steps inside, Keith can feel it: a chill that had absolutely nothing to do with the changing of seasons.

Well, he had a pretty good guess why the house was so cheap now. Right, he could work with this...probably. 

But not right now; he has a plan he needs to stick to. 

He unloads the half dozen boxes he has from his car and sets them next to the front door, deciding not to bring them in any further until he knows which rooms are what. He checks the time, still early, so does a quick walkthrough of the place. Starting at the bottom and working his way up.

The basement is nice if a bit bare. One wall is half painted and what seems like a broken entertainment table, or perhaps a wooden bench, sits along the opposite. He’s thankful he left his shoes on, the carpet feels caked in dust. 

There are two doors at the other end of the basement, the first leading to a room with a window well. The other is a bathroom and either something is wrong with the wiring or the lightbulbs are just burned out. Coming back to the staircase he sees a room tucked under the stairs that has the electrical and furnace. 

Back up the stairs to the main level he comes out in the kitchen/dining room combo area, with the door to the garage there as well. To his right is another bedroom, probably used as a guest room. Most of the rest of the floor is dedicated to the rather large living room with the front door (and his boxes) between that and the guest room. 

Towards the back of the house are the stairs leading up to the second floor. To the right of that is a bathroom, and left is a backdoor and probably what’s supposed to be a mudroom that transitions to the laundry room in the corner. There are no machines and Keith adds finding the local laundromat to his list of ‘things to do’ after he concludes this tour.

Now, with no other excuses to avoid it, he heads upstairs. The air is, heavy, for lack of a better word. He’s felt it on the fringe of his awareness the entire time he’s been in the house but it definitely becomes more noticeable with each ascending step. He can breathe fine, it’s honestly more of a psychological phenomena than anything physical, but he is conscious of his breathing and has to remind himself to inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

At the top of the stairs is an open area and a built in bookshelf along the opposite wall. This is the center of the second floor, with a door to the right and a door to the left. The left Keith is leaving alone; he can feel the negative energy originating there. Most likely that is where the spirit died or was their room when alive. Either way Keith wasn’t messing with it until he was more prepared.

That left the last room: the master bedroom. Very nice, large. Attached bathroom and walk in closet. Ordinarily he’d make this his room but with the negativeness in such close proximity he knows he won’t be able to. 

He checks the time as he heads back downstairs. He still has time before his next appointment but decides to head out early, leaving the job of unpacking boxes for later.

It’s a quarter past four, well before his 5 o’clock meeting time, when he pulls into the auto repair shop Shiro’s Garage. He parks, easily finds the entrance, and heads inside. A bell jingles above him and he steps into a waiting room with several chairs and an unmanned counter.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment!” a friendly voice echoes from somewhere back in the garage.

Keith now notices the door behind the counter that clearly leads back into the garage. Open so that the man is able to hear the bell if anyone comes in while he’s in the back.

Soon enough the man attached to the voice appears in the doorway. “Hi there, sorry about the wait; I’m the only one here right now. What can I do for you?”

“Keith Kogane, I called about a job last week. Sorry I’m so early; I can come back later if I caught you at a bad time?”

“Oh, no, you’re fine. I’m Shiro, by the way; why don’t you come back to my office and we can talk.”

Keith follows Shiro through that door and practically to the other side of the garage. There’s a lot of open space in the middle of the garage, enough that four cars could easily fit at the same time, as well as a car lift and many tools scattered about.

Shiro’s office is small and a bit cluttered, but welcoming with light blue walls and many personal pictures. He directs Keith to the chair nearest the door and he takes the one behind the small desk.

“So, Keith, last week on the phone you said you’d be moving here and need a job. Have you ever worked with cars before?”

“Not really. I’ve taught myself the basics, enough for me to take care of my own car, but I’m a fast learner and am confident I’ll be able to pick things up quickly if shown.”

“Why did you decide to move here?”

“Needed a change. Not sure what I’m looking for, or even really what to do with my life. Gonna try to figure all that out while I’m here I guess.”

“That’s admirable. A bit risky to take such a big chance, but you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders so I think you’ll do just fine.”

Keith blinks at the praise, “Ah, thanks?”

Shiro waves away Keith’s confusion and embarrassment, if the reddening of his cheeks were any indication. “Anyways, you’re hired. How soon can you start?”

“Um.” Wait, what? Seriously? That was fast, and rather easy. “Right now I guess. I was only gonna explore the town a bit, find a few places, but it’s nothing pressing.”

“No no no. Tomorrow will be fine. Gives me time to put you in the system and file your paperwork. Paperwork!” his eyes go comically wide and he turns on his swivel chair to rifle through the filing cabinet in the corner behind him. “Ah-ha!” He pulls out a manila folder with maybe half a dozen sheets of paper. “Here we go! Go ahead and fill out what you can now. Do you have your driver’s license with you? I’ll need to make a copy for our records.”

Keith hands it over and gets to work on the papers. In the end it doesn’t take too terribly long. 

“Thanks. I’ll leave these on my husband’s desk to file tomorrow morning; I’ve never been too great with computers, honestly. Why don’t you come in at two o’clock? Everyone will be back from lunch so introductions can be done at one time. And then a tour and general first day stuff. Will that work for you?”

“Yes, sounds perfect. I’ll see you at two.”

They both stand up from their chairs and Shiro offers his hand. Keith shakes it, as is routine, but what is not expected is the cool smooth surface of metal. He looks down, really looks this time, and sees the very obvious prosthetic peeking out from the cuff of his long sleeve shirt.

While their hands are still connected Keith can feel the older man tense up just a little. Not much, he’s sure this is such a normal occurrence when meeting new people that it happens every time they take notice of the prosthetic, but immediately following discovering ‘it’ is when it always gets awkward; his own experience in the system taught him that: others ignore the issue so blatantly it’s obvious they’re trying to avoid it. And in ignoring it just makes it all the more awkward for both parties.

Keith leans back and with all seriousness asks, “Does it have a built in machine gun?”

“What?" That segway throws off the older man. "No?”

“A hidden sword?”

An amused smile. “No.”

“C’mon man, at least a bottle opener?”

“Afraid not.”

“Damn. You’re really missing out then dude. So much wasted potential.”

And with that the awkward air is dispelled. Shiro is much more relaxed and can definitely see himself enjoying this young man's company. “I'll keep that in mind the next time I need to go in for an adjustment.”

“Good. That is the only correct answer.” They smile genuinely at one another and with that their meeting is concluded on a good note.

“I'll walk you out.” They retrace their path back through the garage and find themselves next to Keith’s car soon enough. “So then Keith, where are you off to now?”

“Well I need to hit the grocery store for sure. Finding a laundromat while I’m out would be ideal so I know where that is when I need it. And then a secondhand store; those are the main things I need to find in the next day or two.”

“We actually have a few grocery stores. There's one pretty close to the laundromat about five minutes that way,” he gestures further into town. “The second hand store would be in the other direction,” he points the way Keith had come from, “but it's off the main road a ways so your best bet would be to use the map on your phone. I can find the address right now for you if you’d like?”

Keith readily agrees and thanks him as he copies the address Shiro finds directly into his phone’s map directions.

“Another place on the other side of town sells food and other items but that's probably a fifteen minute drive with all the stop and go traffic. Lots of lights and stop signs in that direction.”

“Thanks,” Keith voices his gratitude again, “I’ll go check these places out and will see you tomorrow, two o’clock.” 

“Yes, see you then Keith; it was very nice to meet you.”

“You as well, boss.”

**Author's Note:**

> *stares at the word count* Is this enough for a chapter…?  
> *stares at the date* I’ma gonna need to post /something/ so this doesn’t turn into a repeat of Julance -_-
> 
> More to come -hopefully- soon!


End file.
